Unless you belong to a private rifle and pistol club, finding a place to sight in your deer rifle or simply to practice with a firearm is becoming increasingly problematic in Maine.

There was a day when all you needed to do was to find an old gravel pit, set up a target and plink away. Not anymore. Pit owners, mindful of all the new legal liabilities that seem to be the scourge of the 21st century, are posting their properties.

Organized shooting clubs and ranges don’t have it so easy, either, as anti-gun factions and other detractors try to put them out of business. In this regard, there is good news on two fronts.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has a new program called the Maine Range Access Improvement Grant Program. Boiled down, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is giving the state grant money to fix up shooting ranges across the state and make them more accessible to the public.

The grant program provides funding of up to $50,000 to eligible shooting organizations for non-commercial firearm and archery range enhancement. Applicants must provide at least 30 percent of project costs, which may include cash or in-kind contributions of labor, services or materials. A critical component of the program is that any range that receives grant funding must provide public access to the range facility. There is a competitive evaluation of grant applications and an effort to provide a state-wide distribution of awards. Ranges that provide more shooting opportunities for the general public are given a higher ranking in the scoring process.

For more information contact Nate Webb at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Here is the other good news. This spring, Gov. Paul LePage signed a bill into law that aims to protect outdoor sport shooting ranges that are being affected by increased rural development across Maine.

The law prohibits local ordinances or lawsuits that would limit the operation of existing ranges or force them to close based on noise complaints or longstanding shooting activities. The law allows municipalities to regulate substantial changes in the use of ranges, but it makes clear that gun clubs can maintain, repair and improve ranges, especially to increase safety and handicap accessibility.

According to a report by Kelley Bouchard, supporters of the bill said that more than 100 sport shooting ranges across the state are threatened by increasing rural development, challenging their futures and Maine’s hunting heritage.

Although the shooting range protection legislation is not as comprehensive as the original bill, it does add a layer of protection for Maine’s shooting ranges. Credit for this commendable proactive measure goes to the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine and the bill’s sponsor, State Representative Patrick Corey.

The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WQVM-FM 101.3) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is vpaulr@tds.net . He has three books “A Maine Deer Hunter’s Logbook”, “Backtrack.” And his latest “The Maine Angler’s Logbook.” .Online purchase information is available at www.maineoutdoorpublications.com.

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